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Current Performance and Preliminary Results of a New 14C Extraction Line for Meteorites at the University of Bern

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 November 2017

Marianna Mészáros ,
Ingo Leya ,
Beda A Hofmann  and
Sönke Szidat
Marianna Mészáros*
Affiliation:
Space Research and Planetary Sciences, University of Bern, Sidlerstrasse 5, Bern 3012, Switzerland Natural History Museum Bern, Bernastrasse 15, Bern 3005, Switzerland
Ingo Leya
Affiliation:
Space Research and Planetary Sciences, University of Bern, Sidlerstrasse 5, Bern 3012, Switzerland
Beda A Hofmann
Affiliation:
Natural History Museum Bern, Bernastrasse 15, Bern 3005, Switzerland Institute of Geological Sciences, University of Bern, Baltzerstrasse 1+3, Bern 3012, Switzerland
Sönke Szidat
Affiliation:
Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry & Oeschger Center for Climate Change Research, University of Bern, Freiestrasse 3, Bern 3012, Switzerland
*
*Corresponding author. Email: marianna.meszaros@space.unibe.ch.
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Abstract

Here, we introduce a new radiocarbon (14C) extraction line operating at the University of Bern, which was designed and built for the extraction of in situ 14C from meteorites. With this system, we achieved two important developments compared to other systems. First, using the MICADAS gas-interface system, 14C can directly be measured from the collected CO2 gas, i.e., without graphitization of the sample. Second, meteorite sample masses as low as ~0.05 g can be used for high precision and reproducibility. Prior to extraction in an oxygen atmosphere held at a pressure of ~20–30 mbar in an iridium crucible at 1600°C for 40 min, samples were preheated for 1 h in a constant oxygen flow at 500°C and continuous pumping. Gas purification followed the method described previously (e.g., Hippe et al. 2009). While the blank levels for preheated samples are low (<2×104 14C atoms), the blanks for non-preheated samples are high, therefore those results cannot be used. We also report preliminary results for the L-chondrite JaH 073. The terrestrial age of 17.7±0.4 ka is in good agreement with previous results for the same sample of this meteorite, confirming that the extraction line, the gas purification system, and the AMS measurements are all reliable.

Keywords

meteoritesradiocarbon datingterrestrial age
Type
Research Article
Information
Radiocarbon , Volume 60 , Issue 2 , April 2018 , pp. 601 - 615
Copyright
© 2017 by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of the University of Arizona 

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